In advance of this year’s CROP Hunger Walk, students on the Community Service Committee researched ways in which the funds they raise during this annual outing make a real difference. Below are a few of the examples that resonated with our students and that they chose to share with the Upper Campus community at morning meeting.
  • Felipa Pascual is a mother of five, living in a small community called La Mayita in the Dominican Republic. She learned about vegetables, provided by the fund from the CROP Hunger Walk. She started to grow vegetables in her backyard. Her family became healthier after that. Her family later even began to have some income.
  • Victor lives in Moldova and has adopted six children. With funds from the CROP Walk, he started to raise chickens. The local community buys Victor’s chickens and eggs. This helped him provide for his young family.
  • “I go to collect water in a 5 gallon clay jar. I’ve never been to school, as I have to help my mother with her washing work, so we can earn money. We don’t have a bathroom.” – 13-year girl old from Ethiopia
  • In the US, the child poverty rate increased 18% over the past decade and 14.5% of households now struggle to put food on the table. More than one in four children is at risk of hunger.
  • There is enough food in the world today so that all can have the nourishment they need for a productive and healthy life, but it isn’t evenly distributed, so many people are still left to starve.
  • Hunter is the World’s #1 health risk. It kills more people than AIDS, malaria, and TB combined.
  • At least 925 million people do not have enough to eat and 98% of them live in developing countries.
Students, faculty, staff, parents, pets, and friends of IMS will be walking and collecting pledges to support the CROP Walk on Sunday, September 27. The 5-mile walk begins at Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village, CT  at about 1:30. The purpose of the CROP Walk is to raise funds and awareness about local and global food shortages. As they walk or run along the five-mile route, participants are asked to think of those who suffer from hunger and must walk many miles each day just to get water and food for survival. For the last several years, IMS has made the largest contribution of all participating school groups, earning the coveted Golden Sneaker Trophy.

If you would like to make a pledge or learn more about participating in the walk, contact our community service leaders Sheryl Knapp or Cecilia Bucca.